Apollo 12 in Pictures: Photos from NASA's Pinpoint Moon Landing Mission
Unpacking for the Walk
At the Modular Equipment Stowage Assembly, astronaut Alan L. Bean, Apollo 12 lunar module pilot, works. Bean and astronaut Charles Conrad, Jr., commander, landed the Apollo 12 Lunar Module on the moon to explore the lunar surface while astronaut Richard F. Gordon, Jr., command module pilot, stayed aboard the Command and Service Modules in the moon's orbit.
Climbing Down
Down a ladder on the Apollo 12 Lunar Module, known as Intrepid, astronaut Alan L. Bean, lunar module pilot, climbs to join astronaut Charles Conrad, Jr., in the Ocean of Storms on the moon's surface to explore and collect soil and rock samples. In lunar orbit, astronaut Richard F. Gordon, Jr., remains in the Apollo 12 Command and Service Modules, known as Yankee Clipper.
Training for the Big Day
At the Kennedy Space Center on October 22, 1969, astronaut Richard F. Gordon, Jr., Apollo 12 command module pilot, completes a training simulation. Gordon along with astronauts Charles Conrad Jr., commander; and Alan L. Bean, lunar module pilot, make up the crew for Apollo 12, NASA's second lunar landing mission.
Expectations Visualized
An illustration by a Ryan Aeronautical Company artist portrays Surveyor 3 on the Ocean of Storms. In the background two astronauts from the Apollo 12 mission approach and the Apollo 12 Lunar Module is visible. Earth rises above the moon's horizon to the right.
Apollo 12 astronauts will inspect Surveyor 3 as part of their mission to the moon. Certain parts of the lander will be removed and carried to Earth for scientific study.
Water Landing
On September 20, 1969, an Apollo 12 lunar landing mission crewmember is lifted from the water during water egress training in the Gulf of Mexico. The prime crew for the Apollo 12 lunar landing mission — astronauts Charles Conrad Jr., commander; Richard F. Gordon Jr., command module pilot; and Alan L. Bean, lunar module pilot — all participated in the training.
Exit the Capsule
Astronauts Charles Conrad Jr., commander; Richard F. Gordon Jr., command module pilot; and Alan L. Bean, lunar module pilot, the prime crewmen for the Apollo 12 lunar landing mission, exit the Apollo Command Module trainer during a water egress training exercise with assistance from a Manned Spacecraft Center swimmer. During the September 20, 1969 simulation, all four men don biological isolation garments and the three crewmen wait for in a life raft for a helicopter to get them.
Safely Home
After the Apollo 12 Command Module safely splashed down on November 24, 1969, crewmembers exited the craft with assistance from a U.S. Navy underwater demolition team swimmer. Astronauts Charles Conrad Jr., commander; and Richard F. Gordon Jr., command module pilot, wait in the life raft as astronaut Alan L. Bean, lunar module pilot, leaves the module. The crewmen were part of NASA's second lunar land mission.
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Cause for Celebration
On November 24, 1969, crewmen on the USS Hornet assemble to celebrate the success of NASA's second lunar landing mission and the recovery of its crewmembers and the Command Module. Astronauts Charles Conrad Jr., Richard F. Gordon Jr. and Alan L. Bean, are inside the silver Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF).
Family Time
On Nobemer 29, 1969, the wives and children of the Apollo 12 lunar landing mission's crew welcome the crew home as the men sit inside the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF). The MQF with the astronauts inside flew to Ellington Air Force Base on a United States Air Force C-141 transport jet. In the window of the MQF from left to right are astronauts Charles Conrad Jr., Richard F. Gordon Jr. and Alan L. Bean. Outside the MQF, their wives from left to right are Mrs. Barbara Gordon, Mrs. Jane Conrad and Mrs. Sue Bean.
Lunar Samples
One of the moon rocks, sample 12065, brought back from the Apollo 12 lunar landing mission has been cut into three pieces for examination.
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Christine Lunsford joined the Space.com team in 2010 as a freelance producer and later became a contributing writer, covering astrophotography images, astronomy photos and amazing space galleries and more. During her more than 10 years with Space.com, oversaw the site's monthly skywatching updates and produced overnight features and stories on the latest space discoveries. She enjoys learning about subjects of all kinds.